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Monday, February 03, 2014

KERRY'S BIASED WARNINGS OF BOYCOTTS EERILY SIMILAR TO BIASED WARNINGS ABOUT VIOLENCE

John Kerry said that if "peace talks" fail, there'll be boycotts of Israel, suggesting he's encouraging and condones actions that can harm Israel:

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday threatened Israel that a failure in the peace talks would lead to global boycotts and delegitimization of the Jewish state. The warning comes as no surprise to those familiar with reports earlier in the month, which revealed that Kerry is orchestrating the European boycotts against Israel.

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon responded to Kerry's threats of boycotts, saying "we respect Secretary of State Kerry but will not hold talks with a gun to our head. Friends don't put ultimatums on the security of the state of Israel."

To me, this sounds an awful lot like the bizarre warnings of violence and bloodshed from past years if these talks fail. Besides condemnations from Israeli government ministers, there have also been condemnations from Israeli community leaders:

A leader of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) has harshly criticized United States Secretary of State John Kerry for his declaration that Israel could face international boycotts if it does not succeed in making peace with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Kerry’s boycott threat shows that he has bought into anti-Semitic thinking regarding Jews and Jewish motives, said Yesha Council official Adi Mintz.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning that Israel faced a growing boycott threat if peace talks with the Palestinians fail, saying the campaign would not achieve its goal.

In the latest flare-up between the two allies, two of Netanyahu’s Cabinet ministers went even further, lashing out at Kerry and accusing him of undermining the Jewish state’s legitimacy and the chances of reaching a peace agreement. [...]

At the opening of his weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said international pressure on Israel would backfire and only cause the Palestinians to harden their positions.

“Attempts to impose a boycott on the State of Israel are immoral and unjust. Moreover, they will not achieve their goal,” he said.

While Netanyahu refrained from taking aim at Kerry, some of his ministers were harsher. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz, of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, called Kerry’s comments “offensive, unfair and insufferable.”

“You can’t expect the state of Israel to conduct negotiations with a gun pointed to its head,” he said.

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, from the religious, pro-settler Jewish Home party, said all “the advice givers” should know that Israel will not abandon its land because of economic threats.

“We expect our friends around the world to stand beside us, against anti-Semitic boycott efforts targeting Israel, and not for them to be their amplifier,” said Bennett, a fierce critic of the Kerry-led talks. “Only security will bring economic stability", he said.